A star turn

Are you old enough to remember the long, hot summer of 1976? There were days of unbroken sunshine with temperatures normally unheard of in the UK. The conditions meant water rationing, and brought Denis Howell to the public consciousness as he was appointed minister for drought in what was reckoned to be the UK’s driest period for a couple of centuries. Even us trials riders in the north risked competing without waxed cotton jackets…

The weather isn’t the only reason for making a particular year memorable, or at least rememberable. Take Gordon Johnston for instance; he has cause to remember 1976 for a different reason. Having been away on a tour of duty with the forces in Cyprus, Gordon was looking forward to enjoying some downtime – only when he was met at the airport by his wife Juliet she hustled him into the car with a “Come on, we’re going to pick a bike up!”

Now, such a statement could conjure up all sorts of images of bikes in various conditions, but Gordon was still surprised when he saw the BSA for the first time. “It was deplorable,”